Impact of Dental Caries on Oral Health-related Quality of Life Among 3 to 5-Year-old Preschoolers in Rohtak City, Haryana

Objectives: To assess the impact of dental caries on oral health-related quality of life among 3 to 5-year-old preschool children in Rohtak City, Haryana. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 3 to 5-year-old preschool children in Rohtak City. A total of 12 schools were selected through a simple random sampling method from 4 clusters within Rohtak City. Through a systematic random sampling procedure, every odd numbered child was selected, and the total sample size comprised 469 children, of which 271 (57.56%) were boys and 198 (42.21%) were girls. The Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) developed by Pahel BT et al. in 2007 was used to assess the oral health-related quality of life (Hindi version). The parents answered the questionnaire, and informed consent was obtained to do the examination. Dental caries was measured by the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment index. The data were analysed using SPSS 21 and descriptive statistics and Kendal's correlation were used, with p value fixed at 0.05. Result: Mean def was found to be 1.085 ± 2.27. Prevalence of caries was found to be 30.3% among males and 34.3% among females. Internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha was 0.873. Mean ECOHIS scores was 1.786 ± 4.01. It was significantly higher in subjects with dental caries (3.046 ± 5.47 vs 1.19 ± 2.01). Mann Whitney U was significant(p0.01). Conclusion: Dental caries significantly affect the oral health-related quality of life among 3 to 5-year-olds in Rohtak City. Keywords: Dental caries, preschool children, oral health-related quality of life